CCC CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY U.S. BANK
TUESDAY – QUARTERFINALS
(1) Southern Oregon 71, (8) Corban 55
(2) Oregon Tech 59, (7) Evergreen 50
(3) Lewis-Clark State 78, (6) College of Idaho 57
(4) Eastern Oregon 83, (5) Bushnell 62
FRIDAY – SEMIFINALS
(1) Southern Oregon 53, (4) Eastern Oregon 44
(3) Lewis-Clark State 75, (2) Oregon Tech 60
MONDAY – CHAMPIONSHIP
5:30 p.m. – Lewis-Clark State at Southern Oregon

ASHLAND – During the regular season, Southern Oregon's defense was statistically harder to score against than any in the Cascade Conference over the last 20 years. During the CCC Championships presented by U.S. Bank, it hasn't gotten any easier.

Eastern Oregon was the latest to find out in the semifinals Friday night at Lithia Motors Pavilion, shooting 27 percent from the field and scoring two first-quarter points in a 53-44 loss to the No. 18-ranked Raiders. The No. 4-seeded Mountaineers trailed 28-18 at halftime and by as many as 25 in the third quarter as top-seeded SOU notched its 16th consecutive victory.

The Raiders' star duo of senior forward Kami Walk and junior point guard Meghan McIntyre made sure there was ample offense to get by. Walk logged her fourth double-double in the last month with 19 points and 13 rebounds, and scored 12 in the third to help her team pull away. McIntyre hit the 20-point mark for the third time in four outings, going 9-of-16 from the field with three assists.

The Raiders (26-4 overall) advanced to the tournament's title game for the sixth time in the last eight postseasons. They'll host No. 11-ranked Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) – the same team they knocked off to win the regular-season championship a week ago – at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

"I was extremely proud of our team defense tonight," said SOU coach Carlotta Kloppenburg-Pruitt, who led the Raiders to their last tournament championship win in 2022 at LC State. "(EOU) had a hard time getting any easy looks at the rim, and although we didn't shoot the ball well, we did a great job taking care of it and sometimes you just have to win the hard way."

The Mountaineers (21-7) have recorded their two lowest point totals of the season against SOU. After Beverly Slater's layup less than two minutes into Friday's matchup, they dug themselves a hole by missing 13 consecutive attempts.

Bayley Brennan, who scored all 15 of her points on 3-pointers, got them within seven points with four minutes left in the first half, but they'd get no closer. Spurred by Walk, the Raiders outscored them 16-3 over the first seven minutes of the third.

Clara Robbins (3 blocks, 1 steal) and Emma Schmerbach (2 blocks, 3 steals) helped a defense that frequently pushed EOU to the end of the shot clock. Schmerbach also scored six points, getting a couple momentum-building buckets in transition.

The Mountaineers are left on the bubble to receive an at-large NAIA Championships bid.

SOU and LC State are in regardless of Monday's outcome, having already been selected to host the first and second rounds of the 64-team national tourney. They split their season series, and the last matchup, a 60-58 Raiders win in Ashland, was decided on Walk's go-ahead bucket with 1.6 seconds remaining.